Homer Alaska - Sports

The Mariners had a difficult weekend for varsity hockey. The team played Colony, Wasilla and Palmer in back-to-back games, losing all three.

"We played some tough teams this weekend," said Head Coach Buck Laukitis. "But I am proud of the kids for how well they played."

Thursday's game against Colony, the number 2 seeded team in the league, ended 0-2. The Mariners had a chance with a penalty shot, but did not score.

"We played well against Colony, though we had a shot that washed out," said Laukitis.

The JV team had better luck against the Knights, with a score of 3-2 Colony. Mark Polushkin in the goal had 41 saves.

Friday, the varsity Mariners faced Wasilla and lost with another shut out 0-5.

"We did not have the best effort," said Laukitis. "They dominated us."

Against Wasilla, JV tied 2-2. Caroline DeCreft made the tying goal.

Saturday, Homer faced Palmer for a better match to end the long weekend. Though still a loss, the Mariners were able to score four goals to Palmer's eight. This was an improvement from the first match, with Palmer back in early December which ended 6-1.

"There were a lot of scoring opportunities in this game, which was nice to see," said Laukitis.

Goals were made by Erik Rosencrans, who put two in the net, and Nikit Matveev. Kiril Sanarov also scored, making his first varsity goal in the game. Ethan Kizzia assisted three of those goals and Connor McCarron assisted one.

Homer had 30 shots on goal to Palmer's 46.

The JV game against Palmer also was a hardship, but not a total disappointment. Palmer won 4-1.

Homer plays No. 1 seeded SoHi tonight for an away game, then comes back to the Kevin Bell Ice Arena on Saturday for the last home game of the regular season against Kenai at 7 p.m. Saturday also will be senior night, honoring Vladimir Kalugin, Kai Simmons, Erik Rosencrans and Mark Reutov. This weekend will be the last games before Regions. How the Mariners perform will determine their pairings going into Regions.